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STR: Suspicious Transaction Report

Royal United Services Institute

From the team analysing the intersection of finance and security, tune into compelling conversations on the real-world impact of global illicit finance.

This podcast explores the financial dimensions of today's leading transnational security challenges. Host Tom Keatinge and the team from the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI bring you unique insights on the challenges posed by illicit finance and practical analysis of the policy responses. They interview top thinkers and influential voices who unpack the complex world of money laundering, corruption, sanctions evasion and illicit flows, and explain how this shapes the evolving global security landscape, and what democracies and international institutions must do to stay ahead when it comes to the financial dimensions of the global threat outlook.

Suspicious Transaction Report is also home to CFS's 'Financial Crime Insights' podcast, which ran from 2020 to 2023.

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S9 · E2
Friday · 38 min
Financing War in the Grey Zone
This episode explores how conflict financing and hybrid threats expose gaps in the global anti-financial crime framework. Wars and hostile state activities are not sustained by weapons alone. They depend on money, commercial networks, natural resources, corruption and access to the international financial system. In this episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, Kinga is joined by Justyna Gudzowska, Executive Director of The Sentry and a RUSI Associate Fellow, and Olivia Allison, also a RUSI Associate Fellow and a specialist in illicit finance, corruption and Russian-linked networks. Both guests have contributed to the CFS special issue of the RUSI Journal, 'Illicit Finance in a Fragmenting World'. Their conversation examines why conflict and hybrid-threat financing both often fall between established categories of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. They discuss how armed groups generate, move and spend money; how gold, natural resources and regional financial centres can sustain war economies; and how small payments, criminal networks and social media monetisation can support sabotage, recruitment and other forms of hostile state activity. The episode also considers what the Financial Action Task Force, governments, financial intelligence units and banks should do differently; from developing conflict-financing typologies and recognising regional laundering hubs, to adopting more agile, network-based approaches to sanctions, screening and risk detection. Further reading The FATF Needs to Tackle How War is Financed | Royal United Services Institute Combatting the Illicit Financing of Hybrid Threats | Royal United Services Institute Responding to Russian Sabotage Financing | Royal United Services Institute
S9 · E1
September 4 · 38 min
From Compliance to Risk Management: A View from the US Treasury
This episode examines how the US Treasury thinks about financial crime, sanctions, fraud and protecting the integrity of the financial system. Financial crime, sanctions and illicit finance have become central to national security and economic security. But how can governments and the private sector ensure that the response is effective, risk-based and focused on outcomes? In this opening episode of the new season of the Suspicious Transaction Report, Tom Keatinge is joined by Jonathan Burke, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the US Treasury Department. Drawing on his experience in both government and financial services, Jonathan discusses why the financial crime agenda must move from compliance to risk management, and why effectiveness should not be confused with simply adding more rules or easing pressure on the system. The conversation explores fraud as a growing financial and national security threat, the role of technology and data in identifying illicit finance networks, and the challenge of modernising frameworks such as the Bank Secrecy Act for a changed financial system. They also examine the Treasury's wider toolkit – including sanctions, Section 311 actions, enforcement and information-sharing – and why success should be measured not by the number of actions taken, but by whether financial threats are disrupted and the integrity of the system is protected.
S8 · E24
July 24 · 50 min
Can the Financial Action Taskforce Turn Standards into Results?
How can the global anti-financial-crime system become more inclusive, proportionate and effective in delivering meaningful results? Few institutions have as much influence over the global response to money laundering and terrorist financing as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). But the value of its standards ultimately depends on whether they produce meaningful change. In this episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Elisa de Anda Madrazo, who has just completed her two-year term as FATF President, having previously served as its Vice-President. Reflecting on her presidency, Elisa discusses the transition to a more demanding round of country evaluations, the importance of prioritising effectiveness over formal compliance, and why financial inclusion and financial integrity must reinforce one another. The conversation also examines the unintended consequences and misuse of FATF standards, the need to listen to regional bodies and lower-capacity jurisdictions, and the continuing challenge of turning international cooperation into successful asset recovery. Looking ahead, Elisa argues that the FATF must remain humble, resist the instinct to equate improvement with greater complexity, and demonstrate its impact through practical outcomes: more crime prevented, more criminal assets recovered, and more money returned to victims. Further reading from the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI: UK FATF Mutual Evaluation Taskforce: Second Meeting Report FATF Greylisting and Financial Inclusion Recording: FATF Greylisting and Financial Inclusion Recording: Women in Anti-Financial Crime: Inspiring the Next Generation
S8 · E23
July 10 · 40 min
Can Terrorist Financing Ever Be Stopped?
Why disruption, intelligence and genuine public–private partnership matter more than promises to eliminate every terrorist dollar. Terrorism may have slipped down the political agenda, but its financing remains a critical national security challenge. Attacks can be inexpensive, but terrorist organisations still require money and resources to recruit, communicate, travel, operate and sustain their wider networks. In this latest episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Jason Blazakis, formerly Director of Counterterrorism Finance and Designations in the US State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau, currently a Professor at the Middlebury Institute in Monterey, California, and author of Terror Disrupted: Countering the Financing of Terrorism. They examine how terrorist financing has evolved since 9/11, what governments learned from confronting Islamic State, and the essential role of financial intelligence and private-sector partnership. The discussion also explores the extraordinary bureaucracy behind US terrorist designations, the challenge posed by the transnational radical right, the limitations of state-sponsor listings and the declining effectiveness of multilateral counterterrorist-financing mechanisms. At the heart of the conversation is a simple conclusion: success should not be measured by whether every terrorist dollar is eliminated, but by whether financial networks are disrupted, resources restricted and intelligence converted into effective action. Further reading from the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI: · A Sharper Image: Advancing a Risk-Based Response to Terrorist Financing | Royal United Services Institute · Terrorist Financing in the Age of Large Language Models · Virtual Threats: Terrorist Financing via Online Gaming Further reading from Project CRAFT: · Project CRAFT (Collaboration, Research and Analysis Against the Financing of Terrorism) is an academic research and community building initiative designed to improve counter terrorist financing (CTF) capacity around the globe. In 2025, CFS held a roundtable discussion to assess recent developments in CTF and produced a report entitled, Reassessing the Financing of Terrorism in 2025.
S8 · E22
June 26 · 36 min
Iran's Long (Financial) Arm in Europe
How Iran uses proxies, shadow banking and criminal cut-outs to fund external operations and evade sanctions. Iranian-linked plots, surveillance activity and intimidation operations are drawing growing concern across Europe. But behind these activities sits a wider financial and logistical architecture that allows Tehran and its proxies to move money, evade sanctions and support operations abroad. In this episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, Kinga Redlowska is joined by Matthew Levitt, Director of the Reinhard Programme on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, to examine how Iran's external operations are evolving and what this means for Europe. They discuss the use of criminal intermediaries, online recruitment and low-cost 'gig economy' tasking; the role of oil revenues, front companies and shadow banking in financing Iran's proxies; and the connections between sanctions evasion, procurement networks and operational activity. The conversation also considers Europe's response, the need to close gaps between counterterrorism, counterintelligence and organised crime investigations, and why stronger political will, enforcement capacity and cross-border cooperation will be essential as Iran's networks become more global, flexible and difficult to disrupt.
S8 · E21
June 12 · 36 min
Chinese Money Laundering and the 'Flying Money' Threat
How Chinese money laundering organisations exploit capital controls, criminal cash and informal value transfer systems to move illicit wealth across borders. Chinese money laundering organisations have become a growing concern for law enforcement, policymakers and the private sector. But how do these networks operate, why are they attractive to organised crime groups, and what makes the UK vulnerable? Host Tom Keatinge is joined by Kathryn Westmore and Teddy Nicholson. Previously at RUSI, Kathryn is now a Senior Associate Fellow of the CFS programme and author of the SOC ACE research paper Flying Money, Hidden Threat Understanding the growth of Chinese Money Laundering Organisations. Teddy Nicholson is with the NCA's National Economic Crime Centre where he leads their strategy to tackle international illicit finance, to explore the rise of Chinese money laundering organisations, the role of underground banking and informal value transfer systems (IVTS), and the demand created by China's capital controls. Together with Tom, they discuss why these services are used by organised crime groups including those involved in the cocaine trade, how money laundering networks are adapting through crypto, fintech-style tools and cross-border criminal services, and how law enforcement agencies and the regulated sector can respond.
S8 · E20
May 29 · 29 min
Is Populism a Business Model?
Money, media and influence networks are turning political grievances into engines of power and profit. Populist movements are reshaping politics across Europe and North America. But beyond the rhetoric, rallies and social media campaigns lays a critical question: who is funding this political transformation – and why? Host Tom Keatinge is joined in this latest episode by Liam Byrne MP, author of Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them, to explore the financial architecture behind contemporary populism. They examine the 'supply side' of populist politics: the role of major donors, offshore money, media ownership, opaque influence networks, algorithmic amplification, why political finance can no longer be viewed separately from media influence and national security, and, ultimately, who profits from the resulting political turbulence.
S8 · E19
May 15 · 38 min
Crypto and Sanctions Evasion: Russia's Growing Shadow Economy
Crypto use is central to Russia's evasion of sanctions aimed at restricting its military procurement. It is past time for action. Over the past four years, sanctions against the financing and resourcing of the Russian military have been a key pillar of the West's response to the Kremlin's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine. But as pressure has mounted on the traditional financial system, a parallel ecosystem has taken shape — one that operates beyond the reach of conventional controls. From shadow fleets moving oil, to increasingly sophisticated procurement networks, Russia has shown a clear ability to adapt. And now, crypto is playing a growing role in enabling the purchase of the goods and components that sustain its war machine. In this latest episode, host Tom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Finance & Security at RUSI, is joined by Gonzalo Saiz from the CFS team, and Kaitlin Martin, a Senior Intelligence Analyst on the National Security Intelligence team at Chainalysis, to explore how crypto is being used in Russia's procurement networks, and what policymakers need to do to keep up.
S8 · E18
May 1 · 28 min
From Passive to Active: The Revolution at UK Companies House
The long-derided corporate registry is finally coming into its own as a central player in confronting the UK's role in global illicit finance. When the UK government opened its company register – Companies House – to public scrutiny in 2015, campaigners and journalists cheered. But as everyone dug into the data this revealed, the extent to which the register had become a central tool in global corruption, kleptocracy and criminality became clear; and the fact that Companies House had almost no powers to scrutinise, verify or exploit the data it had gathered confirmed everyone's worst fears, a position that was inexcusable. In this latest episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Matt Pennell, Head of Intelligence at Companies House, to explore how the registry is being transformed from a library for unverified information – from all-comers in the world, and that it was obliged to accept – to an increasingly valuable intelligence tool in the fight against illicit finance in the UK and around the world.
S8 · E17
April 17 · 38 min
Oliver Bullough: Why We Get Fighting Financial Crime Wrong
Laundering money has never been easier, cheaper, or more secure for bad actors, so why do we persist with our current response? In this latest episode, host Tom Keatinge is joined by journalist Oliver Bullough to discuss his latest book, 'Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won', which reveals the seeming futility of the current approach to fighting financial crime. Those who work in the world of financial crime inevitably get caught up on the 'hamster wheel' of compliance without stopping to ask: 'why?' Oliver's book takes the time to do just that. It is a tough read – and an equally challenging listen – for those whose careers have been built on the long-held belief that our approach to financial crime fighting is making a difference. But as Oliver argues, it is past time we considered honestly whether all the money and time spent on fighting financial crime the way we currently approach the challenge is actually making a difference.
S8 · E16
April 2 · 40 min
Latvia's Transformation: From Laundromat to Leader
Motivation, coordination and making the right choices has brought a remarkable turnaround in the financial crime fighting fortunes of Latvia. If you are involved in the fight against financial crime in Latvia then 2018, the year of the country's last FATF assessment, is a date that is both infamous and inspiring. That is certainly the case for Toms Platacis and Paulis Iljenkovs, Head and Deputy Head of the Latvian FIU, who join host Tom Keatinge for this latest episode of the STR podcast, to review Latvia's recently published FATF Mutual Evaluation Report. With 2018 etched in their memories, they reveal the steps they have taken to motivate public and private sector colleagues to move from 2018's near-death experience to an evaluation that places them at the top-of-the-class.
S8 · E15
March 20 · 35 min
Countering Russia's Shadow Fleet and the Limits of Sanctions
How has Russia managed to keep its oil exports flowing despite sanctions and what can governments do to more effectively disrupt the shadow fleet? As Russia adapts its energy exports to withstand sanctions pressure, a parallel maritime system has emerged to keep oil flowing across global markets. In this episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, CFS Research Fellow Gonzalo Saiz is joined by Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst at Windward, and Claire Grunewald, Co-Founder of Clarity Compliance Consulting and a former Sanctions Compliance Officer at OFAC, to examine how Russia's shadow fleet emerged, the tactics it uses to evade sanctions and continue moving oil despite international restrictions, and what governments can do to disrupt its operations as Russia's war in Ukraine enters its fifth year.
S8 · E14
March 6 · 43 min
Russian Oligarch Sanctions: Frozen Assets, Due Process and What Happens Next
Following Russia's full-scale invasion, Western governments issued a slew of sanctions against oligarchs. But to what end? What's been achieved, and what happens next? Over the past decade, the UK has grappled with its reputation as 'Londongrad': a home for oligarchs – most often from Russia – to park and enjoy their money. Successive governments resisted calls for action against these individuals, whether the calls came from civil society, opposition MPs or European ambassadors in London. Even following the Salisbury poisonings in 2018, the oligarch community remained untouched. That all changed in February 2022 when the UK government's resistance to sanctioning oligarchs crumbled in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Accommodating Russians and their money in London become indefensible. In this latest episode of the STR podcast, CFS Director Tom Keatinge is joined by expert oligarch watchers Michael O'Kane, a partner at Peters & Peters, and Natalia Kubesch, Legal Director at REDRESS. Four years since the Johnson/Truss government finally pulled the trigger on oligarch sanctions, one basic question remains unresolved: what is actually meant to happen to these sanctioned individuals — and, perhaps more importantly, to their frozen assets?
S8 · E13
February 20 · 38 min
EU Sanctions on Russia: Four Years After the Invasion
Marking four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we examine how EU sanctions have evolved, expanded and intensified enforcement. As we mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this episode explores how EU sanctions on Russia have evolved from an emergency political response into the most extensive and technically sophisticated sanctions regime in the EU's history. Kinga Redłowska, Head of CFS at RUSI Europe, speaks with Brice De Schietere, Head of the Sanctions Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS), about how EU sanctions are designed, negotiated and implemented. The conversation examines the objectives behind restrictive measures, including targeting Russia's energy revenues, restricting access to critical technologies, countering sanctions circumvention and addressing the Russian shadow fleet. They also discuss enforcement challenges, coordination with G7 partners and the UK, the role of third countries and the growing use of autonomous EU sanctions regimes. Four years on, EU sanctions are no longer merely about signalling unity. They are about constraining Russia's war effort, increasing economic pressure and shaping Europe's broader security toolkit. As the war continues, the question is not whether the EU has sanctions instruments at its disposal, but how effectively it uses them in support of Ukraine's peace and security.
S8 · E12
February 5 · 34 min
Controlling Crypto in UK Politics: Is a Ban What's Really Needed?
As the UK brings forward new electoral legislation, what should the government do about crypto donations, and does it really understand the risks? Discussion about cryptocurrencies is often polarised. Nowhere is this more so the case than in the ongoing discussion about the inclusion – or not – of cryptocurrency for donations to political parties in the UK. In this latest episode of the STR podcast, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Eliza Lockhart, a Research Fellow in our CFS team leading our work on Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics which examines the risk of opaque, foreign or malign influence entering UK politics via cryptocurrency donations; and James Gillespie, a CFS Associate Fellow, formerly of HM Treasury, to reflect on where the real threats from crypto to electoral integrity lie, and what to do about them.
S8 · E11
January 23 · 43 min
How Russian Sabotage Is Financed and How to Disrupt It
Financing is a critical yet overlooked element of Russian sabotage in Europe, shaping how operations unfold and where they can be disrupted. In this latest STR episode, host Kinga Redłowska is joined by CFS Director Tom Keatinge and CFS Senior Associate Fellow Matthew Redhead to review the team's recent report on how Russian sabotage campaigns are funded, and why this important angle has been overlooked by authorities. From low-cost 'disposal agents' to social media recruitment and crypto transfers, the discussion exposes both the vulnerabilities sabotage networks rely on and the leverage points where disruption is possible. Understanding the money trail, they argue, is essential to staying one step ahead.
S8 · E10
January 9 · 36 min
Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea Football Club
Over two billion pounds from the sale of Chelsea FC languishes frozen in a UK bank account. Why is that, and what happens next? Nick Purewal, news and sports journalist, and author of 'Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC' joins host Tom Keatinge to explore the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich by the UK following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the consequences for one of England's biggest football clubs and two decades of investment in south west London. Differences in opinion - and legal drafting - mean that despite rising rhetoric from the UK government, the net proceeds of the sale remain frozen and in limbo in a UK bank account.
S8 · E9
Dec 23, 2025 · 41 min
Creating an AML System that is Fit for Purpose
In a new book, author Anton Moiseienko argues that designing the right incentives will determine the future success of financial crime fighting. In this latest episode of the STR podcast, host Tom Keatinge is joined by former CFS colleague Anton Moiseienko, who is now a Senior Lecturer and Research Director at the Australian National University Law School in Canberra. They discuss Anton's new book, 'Doing Business with Criminals: Between Exclusion and Surveillance'. It is a book that provides an important assessment of the history of financial crime fighting and the policies and laws that govern our actions today; and questions whether we have created the right incentives to ensure all involved are pulling in the same direction, presenting a compelling argument of how the system needs to change.
S8 · E8
Dec 12, 2025 · 37 min
How and Why the AML Status Quo Needs to Change
Jeffrey Robinson writer, storyteller, and passionate believer joins host Tom Keatinge to think the unthinkable and challenge the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) status quo. After all these years of effort to combat economic crime, are we so convinced that our approach is the right one that we are unwilling to challenge the status quo? Acknowledging that we are on the wrong path is hard to do, particularly when there are so many vested interests at play. As Obi Wan Kenobi might have said, the force of the Echo Chamber is strong.
S8 · E7
Nov 28, 2025 · 34 min
The Growing Threat of Terrorist Financing Through Online Gaming
Gonzalo Saiz and Galen Lamphere-Englund speak with host Tom Keatinge about how online gaming might be exploited by extremist and terrorist actors. In this latest episode of the STR podcast, host Tom Keatinge caught up with CFS Research Fellow Gonzalo Saiz and Galen Lamphere-Englund co-founder and convener of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network to discuss Gonzalo's recent paper on the growing threat of terrorist financing through online gaming platforms. They discuss how terrorist and extremist actors are increasingly exploiting online platforms, not only to fundraise but also disseminate propaganda, recruit members and incite and engage in radicalisation activities.

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